Zerka Toeman Moreno (June 13, 1917 – September 19, 2016) was a Dutch-born American

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

and co-creator of

psychodrama Psychodrama is an action method, often used as a psychotherapy, in which clients use spontaneous dramatization, role playing, and dramatic self-presentation to investigate and gain insight into their lives. Developed by Jacob L. Moreno and ...

. She was a close colleague and wife of Jacob Levy Moreno.

History

Celine Zerka Toeman was born in Amsterdam on June 13, 1917. Her paternal grandparents were grain merchants who, like many other Jewish families of the time, left Warsaw to go to England when Zerka's father, Joseph Toeman (1887–1956), was still a toddler. Her mother, Rosalia Gutwirth (1890–1969) originated from Eastern Europe. It was in the Netherlands that Zerka, the youngest of four children, lived the first part of her life. Her siblings were Sabine (born 1912), Rudolph (1913–1992) and Charles (1916–1990). In 1931, when Zerka was fourteen, her parents moved to London to reunite with the rest of her father's family. Here, she finished high school and later studied art and fashion design. In 1939, she crossed the Atlantic for the first time to arrive in the USA with some family friends. In 1941, she was able to take her elder sister from Belgium to New York, to pursue treatment for her sister's mental illness. Moreno was one of the co-founders of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy. Moreno's contribution to the field of group

psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...

and

began immediately upon meeting Dr. J. L. Moreno. Within a year of their meeting J.L. and Moreno founded the Sociometric Institute on Park Avenue, New York City. They established the Psychodramatic Institute in New York in 1942. They began producing the journal ''Group Psychotherapy'' (originally called ''Sociatry'') in 1947, publishing a volume of research documenting their application and refinement to the social sciences of sociatry, psychodrama, and

sociometry Sociometry is a quantitative method for measuring social relationships. It was developed by psychotherapist Jacob L. Moreno and Helen Hall Jennings in their studies of the relationship between social structures and psychological well-being, and ...

. Moreno was J. L. Moreno's partner and co-creator for over thirty years until his death in 1974. Moreno continued training and teaching the psychodramatic theory and method for more than 30 years since Dr. Moreno's death, training psychodramatists worldwide. Moreno is recognized as a leader in further realizing Dr. Moreno's vision in bringing this method to the lives of communities worldwide. In the 2000s she lived in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

. Moreno died in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city that serves as the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, and is part of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fifth-largest community in ...

on September 19, 2016 at the age of 99.

The Zerka T. Moreno Foundation for Education and Training

The Zerka T. Moreno Foundation is a non-profit foundation that offers training, research and education programs based on the Morenean theory in Western Massachusetts, the Graduate School level at Lesley University in Cambridge, and in Portugal. The foundation also holds a resource library of unpublished documents by J.L. Moreno and a collection of training videos and lectures by Zerka T. Moreno.

Bibliography

*Moreno, Z. T. (2012). ''To dream again: A memoir.'' New York: MHR

References

External links

Jacob L. Moreno papers, 1906, 1911-1977 (inclusive). B MS c66. Harvard Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.Zerka T. Moreno papers, 1930-2010 (inclusive), 1957-2000 (bulk). H MS c163. Harvard Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Boston, Mass.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno, Zerka T. 1917 births 2016 deaths American people of Dutch-Jewish descent American psychotherapists Dutch emigrants to the United States Dutch Jews People from Amsterdam Psychodramatists